Well, I think the work hard part of the advice is good. But you also need to work smart and work where your work is appreciated. If your work isn’t appreciated, move on. If you wait too long for the rewards, you’ll start resenting your work. Because in the long run we’re all dead.
—Peter
Best in terms of the experience and best in terms of the returns, despite "averaging more than 50 hours/week. “Labours of love”, wherein one creates something from nothing, are like that.
Murph,
I carefully qualified my statements with showing up above the 50 hours.
I easily show up on my own ventures well over 50 hours. I keep the actual hard work to around 50 hours for quality sake. Yes the ventures are labors of love.
I come from a medical family. I have seen what happens to obsessive people working too hard. It is not pretty. Very hard work at 50 hours is more than enough to do what needs to be done and enjoy the golden years.
Good old victimhood complex.
Classic bully behavior. Blame the victim for being a victim.
—Peter
Classic bully behavior. Blame the victim for being a victim.
Good old victimhood complex defense.
The Captain
One of my goddaughters* was an unspeakably disciplined student**. Her brilliant physics and ferocious work ethic got her a PhD from Caltech.***
Many institutions and corporations bid for her, but she, thoroughly ratiionally and cynically, set up shop as shepherdess tutor to insanely rich Southern Californian families as "There’s this really weird Caltech physicist surfer girl who can teach (or force and manipulate your pathetically unmotivated and stupid kid to learn) how to whiz the SAT math test."
She made a fortune in just over three years. “‘Beverly Hills’ people have infinite money, bizarre status desires, and not a clue about reality” she explained to me. Then she set up (planned and FINANCED) a secretive advanced physics research corporation in Santa Barbara near some of her favorite southern California breaks, complete with a “bungaloo” at Rincon Reach. Then she snagged a bizarre gorgeous intelligent and very very shy nightime wildlife photographer spawned by mafia “leftovers”**** who seems to live to make her happy.
david fb
** She spent her years from 5 to 8 sailing on a small ketch from Los Angeles to the Potomac River via the Panama Canal during which she was home schooled, mastered celestial navigation, and drank in the Spanish she learned while playing with chidlren along the Pacific and Gulf coasts. She was torn between her love of the sociology and poetry of late 18th century Argentinian Gauchos and of energy focused quantum physics and its companion mathematics.
*** Her thesis explained her attempt to “magic” the hydrolysis of water into O2 and 2H2 at an absurdly high % of efficiency and precisely why her “oh my god that might actually work” attempt failed for quantum dynamical reasons.
**** “Mafia leftovers” is the term his extremely angry alcoholic mother used with me at their wedding, referring to herself and her husband as “Lucky to have escaped alive the Sopranos in Stereo BABY, and who could imagine we would come up with a kid like him?”
***** The older I get the more I realize how absolutely correct Auntie Mame was (within her wealthy alcoholic NYC context): “Life is a banquet and most poor bastards are starving to death!”
fb,
We have two sisters friends of the family who are doing SAT prep in Boston with one on one tutoring. You are right it pays extremely well. Plus both of these two forty somethings with young children can tailor their schedules.
BTW
To all the guys on this forum talking work…really?
Women with children going back to work put any of us to shame. Usually.
Still bullying. Once a bully, always a bully.
—Peter
To all the guys on this forum talking work…really?
When “JCs” like the CEO of Whole Foods, quoted above, cry about employees wanting to realize a small portion of the fruits of their labors, rather than everything going to the “JC”, being “socialism”, there is a disconnect between the “JCs” and employees. Is the future of work in Shinyland that of the 50s and 60s, where working people could manage a middle class life, or a plantation?
Steve
Steve: Is the future of work in Shinyland that of the 50s and 60s, where working people could manage a middle class life, or a plantation?
Wikipedia: The three Medieval estates were the Clergy (those who prayed), the Nobility (those who fought) and lastly the Peasantry (those who labored). These estates were the major social classes of the time and were typically gender specific to men, although the clergy also included nuns.
I think part of the challenge is that we have new “estates” created in our country without most people realizing it.
At one point in our nation’s development (actually from inception until the 1920’s and then again during the 1950-1960 period), we had:
The poor
The working class (frequently, the working poor)
The middle class (making up about 10% of the population) which consisted of professionals and small/medium business owners. The general compensation of the middle class was significantly enough higher than the working class to be able to hire one or two “domestics” to assist on a full-time basis.
The wealthy, which made up maybe less than 1% of the population, and who owned large businesses or substantial invested assets. These are the guys who you read about when you studied American History in school.
We have morphed into socially acceptable groups:
The “poor” and “working poor” make up the lower 20% of the population
The middle class (and those going into debt attempting to live at a middle class life style) make up the middle 60% of the population
The “upper class” (including “upper middle class”) make up the top 20% of the population
The unacknowledged “ultra-high net worth” individuals still make up less than 1% of the population.
To the above, we should consider adding two subgroups:
Politicians: Our system of legalized bribery (lobbying), along with access to information which allows legal insider trading, creates a significant “potential” conflict of interest between doing what benefits them personally and what benefits the voters who put them into office. Catering to this group has created a multi-billion dollar industry which, regardless of party, has enabled nearly all of them to massively benefit from their positions. This happens at all levels of government, but the extra protections of federal legislators makes them “most likely to succeed”.
With the relinquishing of control of major corporations by their founders to a “professional” group of hired officers, over the past few decades, through what amounts to incestuous nepotism, the same relatively small group of a few thousand people find themselves on the boards and as officers of each other’s companies and in a position to “help out” with compensation programs designed to assist the officers at the expense of the (now, non-executive) stockholders. The lack of ethics flows downhill through whole classes of managers - sometimes being discovered, as with Wells Fargo’s scandal - and internal “scams” can last for years. The “theft of value” from shareholders continues unabated as the foxes are frequently in charge of the henhouse (board of directors).
Both of the above groups consist of significant slices of our population which are expected to act in a pseudo-fiduciary position, yet pride themselves on how financially successful they have become.
Jeff
The middle class (and those going into debt attempting to live at a middle class life style) make up the middle 60% of the population
Yes. We have discussed, from time to time, the drop in personal savings rate and the increase in both personal and government debt, over the last forty years, to support the narrative of the “supply side economic miracle”.
Some 70% of the Shinyland economy, vs about 50% in the EU, is geared to extracting money from working people. So far, working people have been able to draw down savings and run up their debt, to keep that extraction industry humming. In recent years, the accumulation of more debt has been enabled by lax lending standards and interest rate suppression.
As the “socialism” narrative is used as an excuse for the “JC” to take more pay and benefits away from employees and keep the loot for himself, at what point does it become impossible for working people to continue to service enough debt to keep the extraction industry humming?
I have commented, from time to time, the shift in the auto industry, away from “affordable” vehicles, to only producing vehicles that the near-rich can afford, and shrinking their companies to match the lower volume. Is the auto industry anticipating the mass insolvency of working people, or only maximizing ATP and GP per vehicle, regardless of it’s impact on volume, as they publicly say?
Steve
The middle class (and those going into debt attempting to live at a middle class life style) make up the middle 60% of the population
No No No No, I am not going to accept that comment. It is a bold lie.
I get all the supply side econ guys here need to believe that with all their hearts. It is a total lie.
The supply side period was 1981 to 2020. Look at the debt.
The prior demand side period was 1949 to 1980. Look at the debt.
There are a few points to this discussion. I will list them.
real GDP growh
income taxes on the top bracket
income taxes, state taxes, local taxes on all Americans
personal debt
US factories
public debt
interest rates
fiscal policy
And the big issue in the background the ability to afford to combat climate change.
Tackling the tax rates first, the effective tax rate on the top 1% is around 27% according to the chart on the link. Ideally for this period of demand side econ and to balance the budget it should be in the 30 to 40% range. With 40% being a target for over 15 years from now. The idea being to minimize inflation later on.
https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/effective-income-tax-…
The solution to all of this is much higher real GDP growth. This means infrastructure and greater demand in the US economy. We are are seeing a shift in planning for these very things.
In that shift is a direct move to cut the deficits.
In that shift we are seeing direct public and private moves to build many more factories in the US.
The dollar amounts for all of these factors change quarter to quarter for years to come. As always. What is important is the economies of scale we can create. In the process we can afford to cut our greenhouse gasses radically.
We are coming out of the supply side econ desert.
Still bullying. Once a bully, always a bully.
This IS a novelty! A dare to out-wimp each other!
You win! LOL
The Captain
The solution to all of this is much higher real GDP growth. This means infrastructure and greater demand in the US economy. We are are seeing a shift in planning for these very things.
I am not sure what should be done, and if I were, no one would care. However, I can see a couple of trends that are converging. One, a shortage of labor world wide except India and Sub-Saharan Africa. The Indian labor pool should last about 10 to 20 years.
https://www.populationpyramid.net/india/2022/
The labor pool in Africa should last much longer. Other than these two pools of labor, we are scraping around for bits of extra labor here and there.
The other is the Velocity of Money. As this increases it
will have dramatic impacts on the economy in light of the massive increase in money supply.
Gotta go, got a reef coming in the gate.
Cheers
Qazulight
Hey Leap - don’t get your panties in a whirl 
All I said was currently “The middle class (and those going into debt attempting to live at a middle class life style) make up the middle 60% of the population”
I didn’t lay out the reason why this is the case, nor did I offer either past or future ways to change this.
During my “formative” years, the tax rates for the highest earners were extremely high by today’s standpoint, but we also have to remember that we’ve had around 1200% effective inflation over the past 50 years, so those taxes have to be taken into context that they only affected relatively few. While the federal government had enough money to put a man on the moon while fighting a war in Asia.
The working class was seeing wage increases at a faster rate than the middle class and aspired to a “middle class life style”. To be able to buy an air conditioner, a color TV, maybe even a Cadillac. As society’s understanding of what constituted a middle class life style changes (egged on by advertising, the real estate industry, the car industry, etc.), more and more of the income that used to go into savings accounts went to pay for these frivolities as people bought multiple TV’s, air conditioners and cars. At the same time, the pace of the wages of professionals frequently did not keep up and they were no longer able to afford hiring working class individuals to do domestic work. Though the original middle class could afford the toys that the working class struggled to acquire, the two classes merged into one - neither segment of which was happy with their current financial condition.
The wealthy have never been eager to pay higher taxes which flow into social programs benefiting other classes. They have been eager to con others into the assumption that, while the population of the US depends on social(ist) programs, there is something inherently wrong in that.
Should they pay higher taxes? Of course, but that would take throwing the politicians that they bought, fair and square, out of office first.
Jeff
Steve: " Is the future of work in Shinyland that of the 50s and 60s, where working people could manage a middle class life, or a plantation?"
Jeff:“The working class was seeing wage increases at a faster rate than the middle class and aspired to a “middle class life style”. To be able to buy an air conditioner, a color TV, maybe even a Cadillac. As society’s understanding of what constituted a middle class life style changes (egged on by advertising, the real estate industry, the car industry, etc.), more and more of the income that used to go into savings accounts went to pay for these frivolities as people bought multiple TV’s, air conditioners and cars. …Though the original middle class could afford the toys that the working class struggled to acquire, the two classes merged into one - neither segment of which was happy with their current financial condition.”
You really need a time machine and go back to the 1950s and 1960s.
Then, most folks lived in 1000 sq foot houses with a one car garage and just ONE car in it. Most houses did not have central air, and most didn’t have a/c till near 1960 and had a window a/c unit.
There were no monthly bills for cable, internet, cable TV with 300 channels. The only bills you got were for water and electricity and heating oil/natural gas.
I grew up in the 50s and 60s. we are out maybe 5 times a year, and that on vacation at a Ho-Jos or similar. We went on camping (tent) vacations. We had exactly ONE car. And one B&W TV set. Color arrived in late 1960s in our house when I was off in college.
There were no fancy medical machines. You got a heart attack and the ‘cure’ was home rest and maybe some nitro-pills for the angina. then you went back to work. No bypass operators. NO expensive drugs. Nada.
No pizza delivery. Brown bagged lunch - dad and the kids every day.
Dad built a small summer cottage - 600 sq feet and a loft. He and brothers did all the work. Dug well. Not fancy but it worked. Oh, outdoor plumbing.
Now, middle class is 2500 sq foot and up to 5000 sq foot house with 2 or 3 car garage, centrally headed and cooled. Cable TV, internet, cellphone bills of $150 a month, maybe a swimming pool. Need twice or 3 times the furniture. At least 3 or 4 TVs, most large.
People eat out - what, five nights a week? No one brown bags it. Hop on plane for vacation - they deserve it.
We might have had ‘steak’ once a month. Maybe… Now? on the weekly menu.
Yup, the expectations for middle class have gone up in price to consume a lot of incomes. So?
Today’s folks couldn’t even think about living at the 1950s level. TVs were EXPENSIVE. Cars crapped out after 5 years. There wasn’t any high tech ‘modern medicine’.
Middle Class was working on an assembly line or in the trades. Or for the phone company or state /local gov’t.
t.
Jeff,
My actual motto is keep the panties dry, live and let live.
We are now getting to the substance.
The divergence in the late 60s and into the 70s was not labor’s pay. It was borrowing at low rates of interest. Both the public sector to a degree and especially the private sector were gone mad. Those low rates were enshrined in socialist half arsed ideas of the great depression which uncapped inflation.
Interest rates were not behaving closely along market forces. Free markets for interest rates is critical.
I do not want higher taxes in the spectrum of the 1950s. That political force you are discussing is within its rights. But as it took force it stopped using marginal tax hikes to cut off inflation in the 1970s. Uncorking inflation even more. Unavoidable because of half arsed socialist approaches by Truman.
The social spending is currently 6.5% of federal, state and local spending. The odd thing people do not know some 85% of that is on the seniors. Yet here we have seniors discussing deadbeats on welfare?
Currently moves to change things can bring down social spending on younger people while making the spending very productive. Raising people into the middle class and cutting crime. Increasing the tax base in the process. Educating many more children longer term to be productive tax payers.
We can not be blind to our powers for good. That is why I objected and got my panties wet. The baby gets thrown out with the bathwater in all too simple statements.
You really need a time machine and go back to the 1950s and 1960s.
t,
We do get it.
But see this as another great rising of the American public for good and the better.
It is totally dependent on a well negotiated demand side economics.
If you go back far enough folks were living in wattle and daub hovels heated by peat fires on open hearths. Old women were being burned as witches. Local warlords and their bully boys extracted what they wanted in taxes and lordly rights including droit du seigneur.
Now, middle class is 2500 sq foot and up to 5000 sq foot house with 2 or 3 car garage, centrally headed and cooled. Cable TV, internet, cellphone bills of $150 a month, maybe a swimming pool. Need twice or 3 times the furniture. At least 3 or 4 TVs, most large.
Yes, and, as I said, that inflation of things has been enabled by drawdown of savings, and accumulation of more debt enabled by more lax lending standards. I have commented before how car financing that used to be for 36 months can now be extended as far as 84 months.
The question is, can savings be drawn down and debt accumulated to infinity, for the average working person? If not, what happens when people can’t service more debts?
Steve